Lucasfilm Reveals ‘The Ninth Jedi’ Series at Star Wars Celebration in Tokyo

Lucasfilm leaders had more surprises on the final day of the three-day Star Wars Celebration fan event in Tokyo. A new batch of nine “Star Wars: Visions” shorts will debut Oct. 29 on Disney+, and also upcoming is the longform series “The Ninth Jedi,” a spinoff of an earlier “Visions” short, from writer-director Kenji Kamiyama.

“The Ninth Jedi” series was announced with fanfare at the event by James Waugh, Lucasfilm’s senior VP of franchise content and dtrategy at Lucasfilm. He called Kamiyama to the stage, “who thanked the audience for being so supportive and enthusiastic about the adventures of Kara and Juro in ‘The Ninth Jedi’ and the upcoming ‘Child of Hope,’ ” according to Disney’s StarWars.com official fan site.

“He then announced that fans will watch Kara’s journey continue to unfold in an all-new spinoff called “Star Wars: Visions Presents – The Ninth Jedi,’ ” the site stated.

“Star Wars: Visions” premiered on Disney+ in 2021. The first collection of nine animated shorts included one dubbed “The Ninth Jedi,” described as such: “The daughter of a lightsaber-smith is pursued by dark forces while on a dangerous mission.” That short film featured Chinatsu Akasaki in the voice of Lah Kara and Tetsuo Kanao as Margrave Juro.

The second season of nine shorts arrived in May 2023. From that batch, the installment titled “Screecher’s Reach” earned the Emmy Award last year for Directing in an Animated Television/Media Production for helmer Paul Young.

The third volume of “Star Wars: Visions” will include a short “Child of Hope” that continues the “Ninth Jedi” story of Kara and Juro. There’s no immediate word on a premiere date for the longform series.

Disney and Lucasfilm have trumpeted Star Wars franchise news at the Tokyo event in an effort to generate strong buzz for upcoming TV, film and gaming releases. Earlier in the day, the studio revelead that “Fortnite” will launch its biggest Star Wars-themed season yet with the May 2 release of “Galactic Battle.” This update will include the popular fan-fiction character Darth Jar Jar.

(Pictured: The stage at Star Wars Celebration Japan in Tokyo)